INTERVIEW: Natasha Bedingfield urges girls to "love your body"

Shanee is a screenwriter and educator living in Los Angeles. She created the web series She Blinded Me w Science to encourage young girls to explore science and technology. You can also read her blog where she chronicles her filmmaking ...

And sings in the film The Pirate Fairy

Singer Natasha Bedingfield is best known for her chart-topping song "Unwritten." The gorgeous pop princess may be moving more toward Disney princess by singing in the new animated film The Pirate Fairy. We sat down with Bedingfield to find out more about the movie.

Photo credit: Tyler Shields

The Pirate Fairy focuses on a perky dust-keeper fairy named Zarina who likes to think for herself and ends up causing all kinds of trouble. Natasha Bedingfield sings Zarina's inner thoughts and emotions. We asked Bedingfield to tell us about this dynamic character.

"Zarina is a fairy that's grown up with other fairies but finds out that she's different. She asks questions and doesn't really fit into the mold of the way fairies are supposed to behave. The story is about her finding herself."

The song she sings in the movie is called "Who I Am." "It's all about being free to find out who you are. I quite like doing this character, I feel like I relate to her. I never really felt like I fit into the mold," she said.

We asked Bedingfield if she could share an instance where she felt awkward or out of place in her own life.

'I felt like that growing up because I was homeschooled for a few years and that was a very odd thing to do in England, particularly. But it really works for me now in the pop industry because I write songs that appeal to people but they're not typical. Sometimes, you don't fit in with everyone else, but it ends up being to your benefit."

Photo credit: Disney

The Pirate Fairy also features Tinker Bell and other characters from Peter Pan, only they're much younger in this Peter Pan-origin story that explains how many of the characters, like Captain Hook, came to be.

"There's little clues in it when you're watching, [and] you'll go, 'Oh, wow, that's how that happened.' You meet the crocodile which ends up being the adult crocodile who chases Hook. In this movie he's just a baby."

As for growing up with Disney films, the singer said, "I really loved Dumbo. I didn't have big ears, though I liked him anyway."

But in terms of which Disney characters she most related to, she said, "It would have been all the princesses. Disney princesses are always a little bit rebellious, a little bit outside of the box, they often have tragedy in their life and they work out how to overcome it."

Photo credit: Disney

Being part of a Disney movie means that a lot of little girls will be looking up to Bedingfield. We asked her if she had a message for these young ladies.

"It's important to love your body. You are perfect because you are you. We're given the body that we are born with, so you've got to learn to love it," she said. Very good advice.

Natasha Bedingfield is currently working on a new album, set to release later this year.